Cable tramway



(No Model.)

GLM. HUSON.

CABLE TRAMWAY.

,525. Patented Dec. 26, 1882.

suitable journal-bearings.

"UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

CHARLES M, HUSON, OF ST. LOUISQMISSOURL CABLE TRAMWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 269,525, dated December26, 1882. Application filed January 17, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. HUSON,of the city of St. Louis, in theState of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inCable Tramways, of which the followingjs a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart of this specification.

My invention relates to a tramway in which the buckets areautomaticallyloaded and emptied; and my invention consistsin thehereinafter-described points of novelty.

in the drawings, Figure l is a top view of my improved tramway. Fig. 2is a side elevation, part in section. Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontalsection of the clamp for securing the buckets to the cable; and Fig. atis an edge view of same and the upper portion of the bucket-pendant,showing the return-bend of the latter, so that the bucket is sustainedvertically beneath the cable. Fig.5 is a vertical section of'the loadingcar on line 5 5, Fig. 2, and Fig. 6 is a similar section on line 6 6,Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section of-the car on line 7 7, Fig. 2.Fig. 8 is a horizontal section on line 8 8, Fig. 2, showing a top viewof the cam for engaging with a pin on the bottom of the bucket to emptyit. Fig. 9 is a horizontal section on 1ine9 9, Fig. 2, showing the yokeand rag-wheel for keeping the bucket-pendant in a vertical positionwhile the bucketis being emptied. Figs. 10 and 11 are views illustratingthe device for the intermediate support of the cable in cases ofinclines and curves. Fig. 10 is a side elevation, and Fig. 11 is adetail edge view.

A and A represent the supporting-frames at the opposite ends of thetramway, A being the receiving end, and A the discharge end. The frame Asupports a vertical shaft, B, in The driving-power is applied to thisshaft by means of a bevelcog-wheel, O, on the shaft, engaging with asimilar whe'el,D,on a horizontal shaft, E, having bearing in suitableboxes secured to the frame. On the shaftE is also the driving-pulley D.

On the vertical shaft B is'a flanged wheel, F, around which the endlesscable F passes, and a rag or sprocket wheel, G, for engaging with thebails of the buckets as they move around the shaft.

H is a yoke secured to the frame A by its opposite ends, and inclosingthe shaft above with this cam, which turns the buckets over,

emptying their contents.

A A are supporting-pulleys secured to the frame Anear the shaft B.

J are the buckets. pivoted to the bails J of the pendants J The bucketsare so secured to the bails that when the pins J on their hottoms comein contact withthe cam I they will tilt freely. The pendants are bent,as shown in Fig. 4, so that the buckets are sustained directly beneaththe cable, and at the same time the pendants do notstrike the framessupporting the pulleys or the pulleys themselves.

The pendants are secured to the cable by means of clutches K, to whichtheir upper ends are secured. There is a hole through the body of theclutch, through which the cable passes.

The hole is made sufficiently large to receive a wedge. K, Fig. 3, whichis driven'in above the cable, to keep the clutch from slipping on thecable.

There may be any number of the intermediate pulleys, L L, supported onsuitable frames, L. I prefer to place over these intermediate pulleysautomatic gates L to prevent all danger of the cables being thrown offthe pulleys. It will be seen that as a clutch strikes the inclined faceof the gate thisend will swing back from over the cable and the otherendswing forward and cover it. Then, as the clutch strikes the other end,it swings back and the other moves forward and covers the cable. Thegates are prevented from swing- 5 ing completely around by stop-pinsprojecting up from the frame L.

M is a vertical shaft, supported in suitable bearings secured to theframe A. On this shaft is a rag-wheel, N, and a flanged wheel,

- T will close b gravity onthe return movement N, both of them beingsimilar in character and purpose to those, F and G, on the shaft B. O 0are supporting-pulleys secured to the frame A, for supporting the cableso that it will not bind on the wheel N.

I will now describe the automatic loading device.

P is a movable car, supported by grooved wheels P, traveling on asuitable track, Q. I prefer to make the body of the car of boileriron,to the top of which is secured a bail, R, connected to the shaft M byacollar, R, and connecting-rod R 7 S is a hopper secured to the body ofthe car, its inner end passing through an opening in the body. (See Fig.5.) The opening is closed by a sliding valve or door, T, guided atbottom by brackets T T, secured to the body of the car, and at top by arod, U, working in a crossbar, U, secured to the bail R.

To the bottom of the door T is secured a pin, T, which works on aninclined cam, T secured to the frame A, outside the car. As the car ismoved forward by the traveling buckets the hopper-valve will beautomatically opened by the pin bearing against the upper face of thecam. As the buckets move around the shaft M their pendants engage with apin, V, projecting horizontally inward from a strap, V, secured to theinside of the body of the car. Thus the car travels with the buckets asthey move around the shaft M, and, as the hopper will be opened asdescribed, the material in the hopper will be dischargedintothe buckets.The track on which the car travels gradually inclines from the shaft inthe direction of the forward movement of the car, (see Fig. 1,) whichwill cause the pin V to gradually retreat from the pendants of thebuckets until it is released therefrom, when the carriage will travelback to its starting-point under the influence of a weight, W, securedto the car by a rope, W, passing over pulley W and under pulley Wsecured to the frame A. The valve of the car. When the car returnsanother charge of material is put in before the next bucket comes along.

As a modification of the rag-wheels G and N, lantern-wheels might beused, whose bars would engage with a pin projecting inward from thebucket-pendant.

In passing around curves it will be seen that it would be necessary tohave some device to prevent the pendant coming in contact with thesupporting-frame of the pulleys. To accomplish this I have arranged aspider, X, (see Fig. 10,) with flanged or grooved wheels X on the outerends of the arms, over which the cable passes. The pendants will pass inbetween the arms as the clutches strike upwardly-projecting pins X onthe end of the arms. (See Fig. 11.) It will be seen that only one ofthese spiders will be necessary in a horizontal curve, as shown in Fig.10, for the pendants on the outside cable will pass on the outside ofthe wheel and not be interfered with by the supporting-frame of thewheels. In cases of vertical curves, the cable would pass under thespiders, and a spider would be necessary for each cable in this case, asthe clutch would not pass between the cable and a common wheel. The pinsX would not be necessary where vertical spiders are used. For ahorizontal spider, flanged wheels would be used, but in vertical spidersthe wheels would have to be grooved to prevent danger of the cableslipping off. Y

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as newtherein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a tramway, the combination of shaft, rag or sprocket wheel, andbuckets, the wheel and buckets adapted to engage with each other, forthe purpose set forth.

2. In a. tramway, the yoke H, secured to the frame A, in combinationwith rag-wheel G on shalt B, and cam I,secured to the frame, forengaging with pins on the bottoms of the buckets, substantially as andfor the purpose set forth.

3. In a tramway, the combination of bent pendant J bail J, and bucket J,as set forth.

'4. In a tramway, the clamp for securing the buckets to the cable,consisting of body K and wedge K, substantially as set forth.

5. In a tramway, the automaticgates L se cured over the pulleys L,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a tramway, the rag-wheel N, secured to the shaft M, for thepurpose set forth.

7. In a tramway, the car P, supported by wheels P on track Q, andconnected to the shaft M, substantially as set forth, with the hopper Sand door T, automatically opened by the cam T and pin T pin V forengaging with the bucket-pendants, and weight W, with corn necting-cordW and pulleys W and W all substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

CHAS. M. HUSON.

Witnesses:

THEODORE PAPIN, Gnu. H. KNIGIII.

